[NY Andrew]

What I Ordered:
2016 Camaro: 2LT Hyper Blue Metallic, A8 V6, Medium Ash Gray, NPP Exhaust, Gold Illuminated Bowtie, Sunroof, PACKAGES: RS Appearance, Technology, Convenience and Lighting, Memory.

2016 Status Codes:
1100:08/19 3000:09/26 TPW: 10/19 3400:10/08 3800:10/20 4000:11/21 4800:12/03 DELIVERED:12/09

Well, she was delivered 12/09 and it was all worth the wait. This is an amazing car. A HUGE upgrade from my 2015 Mustang, this actually feels like how a 2016 vehicle should be. I'll tell you though, in the beginning with all the tech it was overwhelming even for a techie, IT majoring guy like myself but after a day you get the hang of it all. You can customize almost every aspect of the car.

Just want to say that the design engineers spent a long time getting all the angles and positions right. EVERYTHING and I mean everything is on point. I can rest my arm on the center console while holding the wheel for the first time ever (being tall I put the seat as far back as it goes and haven't been able to comfortable ever hold the wheel with two hands). All the buttons are all in the perfect location.

Also couldn’t be happier with the entire transaction process, no issues and had an amazing salesman.

PROS:

*Hyper Blue Metallic is BEAUTIFUL. Looks amazing at night almost like a dark blue/purple. During the day it shines and pops out always catching eyes.

*The Automatic 8 Speed Transmission is phenomenal. Shifts effortlessly and smoothly. Even at interstate speeds when most cars have a hesitation before they really get going, when you hit the gas in this (especially in Sport mode) the baby GOES! Sometimes it's fun to slow to 50 at night on the interstate and floor it; you'd be surprised how quick it gets up to 80 and wants to keep going!! The Mustang's transmission is complete trash compared to this; if I even tried to floor it at interstate speed you have to wait for it to get going. THIS A8 is quality. Absolutely love it.

*I love the way I can choose what inside color I want, I leave it on all the time.

*The HUD is absolutely beautiful, I love being able to see my speed and music at the same time without taking my eyes off the road!

*NPP exhaust is SICK on the V6!! (Pulled fuse so the valves always stay open even at interstate speeds)

*Apple CarPlay works just how imagined it would, flawlessly and fluid.

*Sunroof is wonderful

*The gold illuminated front bow tie is extremely classy and looks amazing in person, the pictures don't do it justice. It turns heads all the time everywhere.

*Quick changing from Sirius XM to iPhone music, this was a HUGE pain in the ass in the Mustang.

*Heated steering wheel/heated seats/ventilated seats are all extremely useful features.

*The overall steering wheel feel and and shape is extremely comfortable and useful for turning, etc.

*The OnStar app to communicate with the car (although slow and unresponsive at times)

*Classy looking key fob with a nifty key and easy to release inner key! Love the feel, shape, and texture.

*RS aggressive package is well worth it. The Camaro looks way more classy and aggressive to me at least, than the Mustang. Mustang has cool rear taillights and sorta interesting front headlight design I liked, but the Camaro is in a class of its own and looks nothing like the Mustang in my opinion, besides the fact they're both coupes and have the same window setup.. The Camaro looks amazing at night with all the lights.

*Knob to dim all the lights in the vehicle or brighten them to your taste

*You have an option to display the "fuel used" on trips which is a feature I always thought to myself would be cool to have and the Camaro has it!

*Super bright interior lights for once. When you drop that card or drop that fry, now you can find it!

*Lights turn off when you lock the car. I always disliked when car lights would stay on for minutes after you leave, I like to know everything shutdown and secure. I think they had a unique flash I noticed once when I locked it.

*LOVE the graphics in the dashboard. Extremely appealing to the eye all the vibrant colors and pictures.

*BRIGHT headlights. Gone are the years of having to buy aftermarket bulbs for bright headlights. People flicker their lights at me that's how bright these bad boys are, I love it! Was wondering if they would be better than the Mustang's and yes they are! The angle seems wider as well.

*Rearview mirror actually stays in place and is tough to move, which is good! Don't have to worry about it moving out of place due to bass or bad bumps.

I could go on and on about everything I love which is literally everything about the 2016 Camaro!

MIDDLE-GROUND:

*I wasn't sure where to put this, but the Bose speakers ARE nice I can't imagine the car without it, but the downside is speaker placement I believe. In the Mustang there was one right on the door near your ears sort of which made a much more enjoyable music experience. I feel like in the Camaro the music is coming from the windshield and only the bass is on the side doors.. I still like it don't get me wrong, but it could have been better.

CONS:

*Barely any storage space at all whatsoever. None in the center console, none in the glovebox, and none in the side doors. The trunk isn't wide but it is deep. Not even under the mat in the trunk where a spare tire is usually kept barely had any room. The Mustang had ample space in all the above

*No sunglass holder..the Mustang had a super cool drawer compartment that came out near the steering wheel which was also padded.

*No designated cutout for USB from center console. You can sort of shut it on the cord and it seems like that's how they made it but could have had a little cutout, again, the Mustang had it.

*I wish the steering wheel could be altered the way the Mustang was, the feel was set to "Comfort" and I could literally turn the wheel with my pinky, there was barely any effort.

*You don't even have to lock the doors when you leave it once you shut the door a couple seconds later the doors will automatically lock and the horn will chirp! I'll probably only rely on this in the driveway though. But the Mustang had an amazing feature where you could tap the doorknob to lock or unlock it, of course it wasn't 100% accurate, but still it was nice to only have to tap the doorknob.

*Remote start duration is 20 minutes tops as opposed to the Mustang of 30 minutes. In the winter it’s nice to let your car idle longer to warm up the inside as well as defrost the windows. But you have to set it prior to remote starting the car or whatever your last temperature setting was is what is going to run, it doesn't go based on the outside temperature like many cars do nowadays, unless I haven't found this out correctly yet..

*Climate controls seem to always stay on being that GM designs their cars like that now to have some form of constant air flow; which I'm against for many reasons.

It may seem like I'm being biased towards the Mustang but I am NOT just a worthy comparison showing the only things Ford did right lol, the Camaro wins EVERYTHING else I could think of that's why I'm not even going to bother going in to detail it can all be seen in the manual if you're curious on the features. That is just me being nit-picky, I'll gladly take this car without those features, always room for improvement.

DEBUNK:

*Some say the seats are not comfortable. I commute 120 miles a day and these are the most comfy leather car seats I've ever sat in.

*Blindspots, every car has them, but does every car have these tech safety features to alert you in a possible bad situation? Everything from the mirror alerts, to the entire backup setup with side warning alerts make me for way more comfortable than I would even with a car with barely any blind spot that's how useful this tech is.

*"High window". I am still able to rest my arm on the window I can see it getting uncomfortable after a long time, but it's definitely still doable and I'll be doing it.

ISSUES:

*I'm sill trying to diagnose if there is an issue with my climate controls or not because they don't seem to every actually completely turn off...not really noticeable when sitting but when driving the vents always seem to be pushing out whatever temperature air I had it last set to...we'll see how this goes.
http://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=432746

TIPS:

*A tip for the HUD display is to put it like one up from off at night so there is no glare of the casing surrounding it, once I did that the side glare was gone.

*You may not get a tire inflation kit. I went back asking for it and they said that I had "run-flat" tires.

CHEVROLET SUGGESTIONS:

*Make a way for us to know when there are software updates and try to make them possible to install on our own!! Ford would notify via email when there were software updates and you could download it onto your USB and plug that right in to your car to update! Having to bring it in would only make sense if there are rarely updates, which honestly I bet there will be quite a bit overtime for numerous solutions.


There is so much more to list and everyone picks and chooses what they like the most and that’s what makes this unique. Like I said, I really do like everything about the car, there’s so much to write about. A lot of it boils down to the fact that Chevrolet has allowed the CUSTOMERS to customize OUR OWN vehicles the way we want inside! Not like Ford saying “here’s what you get, no customizations”. I get to set the preferences from day one and can change them daily. Cannot stress how much I appreciate this fact enough.

Take this for what you want, sure there will be positive and negative comments, I’ll do my best to respond to them all and feel free to ask any questions. And I know they aren't the best pictures..at least I have the car to take a picture of though, right?

It was a fun ride looking forward to being back next year for the trip all over again. I’ll lurk the forums here and there, sort of feel apart of the “family” now. Chevrolet’s won me over! Hope you all receive and enjoy your cars soon!! Oh, and last but not least THANK YOU BECKY for putting up with the daily status code checks, I know we all appreciate you! Love the freebie and letter!

[Glen e]

Nice.....thanks!

[DWALEX]

Congrats, your car looks great and thanks for sharing your experience

[jasonsk287]

Great review!! Interesting to get the perspective of someone who came from the Mustang camp. Congrats on your new car and welcome to the Chevy side! I love that color!

[Hagels316]

I love that color. Congrats! Now are those the premium gray painted machined faced aluminum wheels?

[GMGP5X]

Congrats and great review. I have one ? When you remote start does the heat/cool automatically come on depending on the temp or do you have to have it set up already? Our 2008 Silverado HD has dual zone climate controls, and on remote start it automatically starts heating or cooling depending on the temp no setup required.

[KaBoom1701]

This car is soo much better looking than the Mustang.....

[Number 3]

Congratulations!

First, as for the door locking and chirping, you can adjust that in settings. Also the little chrome button on your door will unlock and also lock the door. So you can turn of the auto lock and just use that little button. And you should just be able to unlock the same way.

Second, as for all the features that offset the horrid blind spots? Yes, more and more cars have SBZA, LDW and FCA. But those don't make up for blind spots. Just allows you to get used to them. You shouldn't feel like you are driving a panel van, and I did. Of course this is my personal pet peeve and likely the reason I won't be able to pull the trigger.

Keep in mind, when GM was making key decisions on what the Gen6 Camaro was going to be, the new Mustang was not out yet. So GM was probably pretty sure they had trumped the old Mustang.

Now if it turns out some of the things the Mustang is better at, as you point out, are important GM will respond.

Love the Blue. Looks really nice.

[Tr6]

Thank you for the mini review and pictures! I completely do agree!

[czaarsvk]

Thanks for mini review Andrew. I like the blue. I have a few questions

1.) Can you tell without being biased, driving during the nights with the blind spots how is it like. I mean the comfort level. Do you have any issues with changing lanes I know that this is where the tech features come into play. But I want to hear that from you.

2.) This is a general question for everyone that knows the answer, looks like you got a fully loaded V6 sans the brembo upgrade(front) which only like 500$ why so? I have been checking the stickers for the cars listed in cars.com but none of the dealers have configured V6 with brembo upgrade(500$). Why so?

3.) Can you try 0 to 60 please( if you can only). Just post the number whatever you get. I am curious to see the real world performance and hear what a camaroer has to say about the driving dynamics. After all that is all this is about.

4.) Not sure if it started snowing yet in VA (it must have). You don't have try driving in the snow for the sake of the question. But I am curious how a v6 is like in the snow. You don't have to answer this one.

BTW I am a mustang fanboy too. But love 6th gen camaro. I love the looks front and back. Although I did not drive this my self I have been reading great reviews about it. I am sure for a lot buyers features such as Android auto and Apple car play will be a point of buy too. More than that the driving dynamics with the shedded weight is what matters.

I have driven a 5th gen camaro and felt the difference in visibility compared to mustang or anyother coupe for that matter. But it wasn't as bad as I was expecting(5th gen). They say 6th gen is a little better compared to the 5th. If visibility is not a concern then I think camaro takes over Mustang in all ways performance, looks and usability.

None of the dealer ships in denver have a 6th gen camaro yet. I feel sorry for myself that I can't test driver to make a decision.

[NY Andrew]

Thank you everyone!! Appreciate all the kind words. So happy with the Camaro and Chevrolet.

Originally Posted by Hagels316

I love that color. Congrats! Now are those the premium gray painted machined faced aluminum wheels?

20" 5-Split spoke premium Gray-painted, machined-face aluminum with the RS package.

Originally Posted by GMGP5X

Congrats and great review. I have one ? When you remote start does the heat/cool automatically come on depending on the temp or do you have to have it set up already? Our 2008 Silverado HD has dual zone climate controls, and on remote start it automatically starts heating or cooling depending on the temp no setup required.

From the way it seems to work and I believe from what I read in the manual, it uses your last temperature setting. Which I'm going to update in my review. The Mustang actually was the exact same way as your Silverado and I miss that. I'll continue to mess around with it, but this morning for example it put the AC on when it was 40s out..so pretty sure it's the last setting, which is somewhat of a hassle to consciously set it to what I want it to be in the morning the night before.

Originally Posted by KaBoom1701

This car is soo much better looking than the Mustang.....

Thank you! I completely agree and will update the review!

Originally Posted by Number 3

Congratulations!

First, as for the door locking and chirping, you can adjust that in settings. Also the little chrome button on your door will unlock and also lock the door. So you can turn of the auto lock and just use that little button. And you should just be able to unlock the same way.

Second, as for all the features that offset the horrid blind spots? Yes, more and more cars have SBZA, LDW and FCA. But those don't make up for blind spots. Just allows you to get used to them. You shouldn't feel like you are driving a panel van, and I did. Of course this is my personal pet peeve and likely the reason I won't be able to pull the trigger.

Keep in mind, when GM was making key decisions on what the Gen6 Camaro was going to be, the new Mustang was not out yet. So GM was probably pretty sure they had trumped the old Mustang.

Now if it turns out some of the things the Mustang is better at, as you point out, are important GM will respond.

Love the Blue. Looks really nice.

Thank you Number 3, means a lot coming from a Veteran of the forums! I completely agree with everything you said.

It seems like a lot have that same pet peeve. I don't have that issue at all. If anything I think the rear view mirror could be a couple inches longer to show the back window edge to edge, besides that the side mirrors do their job when set up properly and the blindspot detection helps to reaffirm you're safe to move. I understand where you're coming from, I did sort of feel the same way when I first test drove it and drive it home, but after a couple days I'm completely used to the whole setup.

Exactly what I thought, I'll be keeping an eye out for even more bigger and better things from the Chevy Camaro in the future!

Originally Posted by Tr6

Thank you for the mini review and pictures! I completely do agree!

Thanks Turk! Hope you're loving that #1!

Originally Posted by czaarsvk

Thanks for mini review Andrew. I like the blue. I have a few questions

1.) Can you tell without being biased, driving during the nights with the blind spots how is it like. I mean the comfort level. Do you have any issues with changing lanes I know that this is where the tech features come into play. But I want to hear that from you.

2.) This is a general question for everyone that knows the answer, looks like you got a fully loaded V6 sans the brembo upgrade(front) which only like 500$ why so? I have been checking the stickers for the cars listed in cars.com but none of the dealers have configured V6 with brembo upgrade(500$). Why so?

3.) Can you try 0 to 60 please( if you can only). Just post the number whatever you get. I am curious to see the real world performance and hear what a camaroer has to say about the driving dynamics. After all that is all this is about.

4.) Not sure if it started snowing yet in VA (it must have). You don't have try driving in the snow for the sake of the question. But I am curious how a v6 is like in the snow. You don't have to answer this one.

BTW I am a mustang fanboy too. But love 6th gen camaro. I love the looks front and back. Although I did not drive this my self I have been reading great reviews about it. I am sure for a lot buyers features such as Android auto and Apple car play will be a point of buy too. More than that the driving dynamics with the shedded weight is what matters.

I have driven a 5th gen camaro and felt the difference in visibility compared to mustang or anyother coupe for that matter. But it wasn't as bad as I was expecting(5th gen). They say 6th gen is a little better compared to the 5th. If visibility is not a concern then I think camaro takes over Mustang in all ways performance, looks and usability.

None of the dealer ships in denver have a 6th gen camaro yet. I feel sorry for myself that I can't test driver to make a decision.

1. Absolutely no issues. The mirrors auto-dim so you're not blinded by others headlights, so it makes it easier to distinguish where the other vehicle are on the road. With the mirrors properly set up you can see the cars before the blind spot picks up on them. I've even tried to go to the far left on an interstate and see if it picks up on a car all the way to the far right and it still did. I think tonight I noticed when merging it won't alert you unless you are really close to a vehicle, so I would still use extra caution when merging to not rely on the blindspot system (obviously, but I'd say its safe to rely on it when changing lanes because even if it's not exact your eyes are right there on the mirror to notice anyway). Also, I love the fact that the judgement distance is perfect. When the light goes off you know you can safely move right into the same lane as that other car (at least from my experience and judgment thus far).

2. It's just about a $1200 package..can't get just the brakes I don't think:
HEAVY-DUTY COOLING AND BRAKE PACKAGE includes (KC4) external engine oil cooler, (V03) extra capacity cooling system and (J55) Brembo 4-piston front performance, 4-wheel antilock, 4-wheel disc brakes; also includes (V18) auxiliary engine coolant cooler with (LTG) 2.0L Turbo engine. I have no interest because it will probably never see the track and the brakes in these performance cars nowadays are absolutely amazing, I can't even imagine what Brembo's are like.

3. I'm still in the break-in period, so I won't be doing this just yet. I think I've seen plenty of videos and test results out there already on YouTube and social media regarding real world tests.

4. Hold on while I go out in the 6 inches of snow and ice, I'll be back to post results. Haha joking, actually we haven't had ANY snow in VA yet!!!!! Cant say we've ever had a winter like this, I could really get used to this. But I used the Mustang all last winter, I have numerous stories all of positive results. It really does fall on your shoulders though whether or not you feel comfortable and can drive in the snow. The way they engineer the vehicles you'd be surprised how well a rear-wheel drive V6 does in the snow. I was absolutely shocked. The difference of 10 years in technology is night and day. I will be doing the exact same in the Camaro this winter unfortunately but I am confident there will be no issues. It was with the stock tires and I believe the fact that they have that new tread plays a huge role. Not sure I would have felt as comfortable if I had the Mustang this time now with the tires because the tread was definitely going. So at least the first couple of months of nasty weather you should be fine. I also plan to probably add some sand bags to my trunk this year.

That's great you seem to be on the fence! I've always leaned towards whoever offers the greatest package. Doesn't seem like Ford has any intentions to catch up to Chevy and I'd definitely be happy to stay with GM now. Originally stayed away from them when they got bailed out by the Gov. Don't get me wrong I LOVED the Mustang's parallel lights with the turn signal and the front headlights looked unique too, but the Camaro has a way more aggressive and CLASSY look to it.

I haven't come to a solid conclusion yet as to what handled better, as of right now I actually think the Mustang handled sharp corners at 60+ better, but I'm still in the break-in period.

As for the visibility, you have to fine tune everything to be 100% confident on the road. It took me a couple days. Mirrors, interior lights, HUD, many factors that can affect the visibility but as far as external goes, I haven't had any issue I feel completely confident. I didn't feel all that confident when I test drove it and even on the way home, but you will get used to it if you really want to.

Stay on the lookout! They'll be coming. My dealer had two SS come in the same as there first and only custom order. It really depends what you're looking for, if it's all the tech, look, and feel, I'd say the Camaro wins. If its more spacious room, not as techie, simple vehicle, than the Mustang. But why settle for less? Hope this helps.

[czaarsvk]

Thanks Andrew.

[paul84043]

In regards to the blind spots. If you've ever taken a defensive driving course, they teach you how to adjust your side mirrors to eliminate blind spots. Most people don't like this adjustment because they use the side mirrors to see the exact same thing you see through the rear view mirror which is redundant.
I also am a huge fan of the small bubble mirrors. Probably the best $6 you can possibly spend on your car. I also have them on my Wrangler. You get used to the full view they give you.
I actually can see through my side rear windows on my gen5 when backing out of my driveway. Making that window basically non-existent was not a great move... the fisheye view that the backup camera gives though, is very nice. Didn't have it on my 2010 and really like it on the 2015.

[LesserO2Evils]

You have the 1st Medium Ash leather interior Ive seen in a customer's hands. I thought ai was the ONLY ONE who had ordered that! Are you glad you wenthat route vs the standard black? Just curious. Thanks.